| Wani Roslan |
IN AN effort to generate more employment-ready local youth, the Government of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has awarded scholarships to eight students to undergo Air Traffic Officer training in Malaysia.
The first batch of students ever to receive this scholarship will undergo a one-year training programme in two phases with six months in the Malaysia Aviation Academy (MAvA) and six months locally.
The Special Scholarship Scheme for Air Traffic Officer intends to produce sufficient human resources to manage air traffic operations in the country as well as to create leaders in air traffic management services of the Department of Civil Aviation in the next five years.
Participants who obtained the licence within the specified period will be offered positions at the Air Traffic Controller Services Division, Department of Civil Aviation.
The scholarship awards and certificates were presented by Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat, Minister of Communications in a ceremony held at the Amar Pahlawan Hall of the Ministry of Communications (MinCom) yesterday.
“The scholarship scheme will encourage more Bruneian students to venture into the field of air traffic management, and in a long run, it can systematically ensure that we do not have shortage of workers in the field,” the minister told the Bulletin.
“Aviation is one of the prime sectors that contributes to the national economy and is capable of providing more employment opportunities to the people in the country.
“We hope that the awardees will demonstrate high learning performance as the scholarship promises a bright career in the Department of Civil Aviation as the field requires high level of commitment,” he said.
The minister informed that the scholarship scheme will be implemented annually, adding that career opportunities in air traffic management exist not only in Brunei but also outside.
“In the future, we hope that parents will show more interest in this area and encourage their children to venture into air traffic management which offers many employment opportunities in Brunei and abroad,” he said.
In his welcoming remarks, Haji Mohammad Nazri bin Haji Mohammad Yusof, Acting Director of Civil Aviation, underlined that the human resources especially for air traffic services are among the priorities to ensure a smooth operation of the country’s air traffic services.
“To become qualified air traffic officers, aspirants must undergo a special air traffic training programme. The duration of the programme depends on the ability of the individual. In addition to theoretical training, every officer should undergo practical training, besides taking written exams and competency tests,” he said.
The minister shared that for the first intake, a total of 897 applications were received and 339 were invited to attend an interview of which eight applicants qualified to receive the air traffic scholarship awards.
One of the awardees, Nuur Atiqah Benjamin who is a former Advanced Diploma in Information System and Technology student of Politeknik Brunei, expressed her excitement in receiving the scholarship.
“I applied for the scholarship a week before the closing date and went through the interview. I did not expect to be selected but I was fortunate, Alhamdulillah,” she said. “I hope that all of us will excel in this programme and get our licence within the specified period,” she added.
The special scholarship programme is implemented under a collaboration of the Department of Civil Aviation, MinCom and the Scholarship Division at the Ministry of Education (MoE). This scheme is also part of the steps taken by the Department of Civil Aviation in ensuring safe and efficient air transport services in Brunei Darussalam.
Also in attendance at the scholarship award presentation ceremony were Haji Azhar bin Haji Ahmad, Permanent Secretary at the MinCom; Dr Haji Azman bin Ahmad, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the MoE; Dr Haji Supry bin Haji Awang Ladi, Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary at the MinCom; directors; heads of departments; and senior officials from both ministries.
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